Birthdays, Eclipses, and Updates

[lavendertook]

It's been so long since I've given a good update and I've missed so many birthdays. I keep hoping to post belated birthday pic spams, but I'm just going to give a shout out now before it's next year:

Happy Belated Birthdays to my dear friends hanarobi, addie71, jan_u_wine, julchen11, and any of my flisties I missed the last few months!

The US Coast to Coast Total Solar Eclipse on August 21st! So has everyone in the US gotten their eclipse glasses? I got certified American Paper Optics glasses on eBay and they came in the mail this week. Is anyone in the Path of Totality? Is anyone making plans to travel to it? I've seen partial eclipses before and wasn't impressed, but only learned the last few months that you only get the good special effects if you are in the Path of Totality and even 99.999% won't compare. The closest vantage is 8 hours south from where I live and I've been making tentative plans to drive down. But it all depends on the weather, kitty health, and the shape my achy foot is in. Anyone else planning on traveling to see it?

Much to report but I'll suffice with telling you about my friend D's 65th birthday bash last Saturday in the yard of her farmhouse out west of Baltimore. She hired our favorite local band ilyAMY to play a 3 hour set, and they were wonderful as always and enjoyed the Shire-like setting. I've been meaning to see them for years, but only first saw them last November, when I really needed them, for national reasons you can guess, and it really helped. Anyway, there were tons of cake and food, and more wine and beer, and to top off the hobbitiness, she had some grand fireworks, and people sent off burning lanterns into the sky. It was beautiful. Thank goodness we had a deluge for a couple of days that only ended a couple of hours before the party to keep all foliage moist and keep the celebration from burning the whole damned countryside down, because they would have sent them off anyway if it was dry--yoy! The party was in the middle of my Tuxie-medicating time, so I missed the first couple of hours, unfortunately, but I still had a really fun time. I enjoyed helping break things down and cleaning up and got to chat with some of the band and D's friends at the end. Most fun I've had in a long time. It was glorious.

Also glorious were the peach melba bonbon's that just came in the mail from the most generous and talented chef minoanmiss. <3 OMG, they were yummy and it's astonishing how quickly they disappeared! Those sweets made up for a really frustrating week of customer service annoyances, scam artist encounters, foot aches, and such draws on my time and energy, and together with the spring-like weather today in my beautiful town and purring kitties, life is good.

And thank you to everyone who gave me suggestions on getting a new cellphone a while back. I got an iPhone 7 Plus I am happy with. if you'd like to call or text me, please send me a PM or email and I'll give you the number.

Lots more to tell, but time for bed. Goodnight!

Comments

[spiralsheep]

If you can't witness the total eclipse then there is still one amazing effect you can look for in an August partial eclipse and that's the light/shadow through the leaves of deciduous trees with dense-ish foliage: instead of the usual full light/shadow on the ground underneath, you'll see the shape of the sun (especially on smoothish plainish darkish surfaces such as tarmac paths). Basically the trees act as natural pinhole cameras! This, of course, also works during the partial phase of a full eclipse. Have fun!

[lavendertook]

I will be able to look at the sun through the eclipse glasses if I can only witness the partial eclipse here. I don't know if I'll have the time to fumfer with leaves, but that could be cool. I know I did the pinhole on cardboard trick when I was a kid in 1970, but wasn't impressed with the whole thing. I'd like to witness the full deployment of special effects under totality, if it works out. Everyone who writes about it says it's more wonderful than they can explain.

If not, maybe it will work out for me in 2024--it will be 2 hours drive closer then over Cleveland and the Great Lakes, but in April, alas, which makes the probability that it will be clouded out much higher. Totality will pass over Niagra Falls then--I can't imagine how scarily packed with people that place will be then! Do you have any eclipses due in the UK soon?

[spiralsheep]

No idea about eclipses here. I've seen one and don't need to see another. The Perseid meteors should be prolific this year though.

Pinhole cameras only have one lens with a short projection distance so they make one small image. Trees are better! Average 2015 UK example with no special effects:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/69674351@N03/16831042551/in/photostream/lightbox/

:-)

[claudia603]

I'd love to see the eclipse. I'm not in the total eclipse path, alas, it would probably be about a 3-4 hour drive to get there and school will have started for me by then...But I know I've heard that everyone in the school will get to see the partial (they're bringing special glasses for everyone, some scientists at U of I)...

Glad you enjoyed hanging out with your friends!! That sounds very hobbity!

[lavendertook]

Gosh, it's so close to you, I wish you could take off and go. But witnessing the kids curiosity about it will be really fun and having scientists there bringing their enthusiasm to it.

It was very hobbity fun. I overheard Rob from the band commenting on the party, "65 looks an awful lot like 16." Haha! (-:

[shirebound]

So many hugs!!!!

[lavendertook]

*squooshes*

[shirebound]

We're getting a 75% partial eclipse here. Partial is better than none!

[lavendertook]

I'm hecticly getting ready for driving down to Florence, SC tomorrow where I'm staying an hour above the path of totality, and then driving down to Santee, SC around the center line Monday morning. Wish me luck that everything will work out.

[shirebound]

Oh wow. I wish you clear skies and awesome eclipsing.